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This publish accommodates spoilers for The Rings of Power by Season 2, Episode 5.
Sauron could also be busy forging rings, however one other evil energy is rising within the east on The Rings of Power. In Season 1, The Stranger and his harfoot pals bumped into some pale, mystical baddies within the forest. It seems that they hailed from the japanese land of Rhûn. They had been the henchmen of a darkish wizard, performed by Ciarán Hinds, who was launched within the second episode of Season 2.
Hinds is not any stranger to fantasy diversifications: He has had roles in each Game of Thrones and Harry Potter. However, in The Rings of Power, he looks like a very ominous foe to The Stranger, who many have imagined to be Gandalf. But the Dark Wizard’s precise id and supreme purpose had to this point remained a thriller all through Season 2.
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Here is what we do know in regards to the Dark Wizard and our greatest guess at his motivations.
The new foe is probably going one of many Istari
At the tip of Season 1, three cultists tracked down the Stranger within the forest, believing him to be Sauron reincarnated. Of course, they’re improper: Galadriel’s good friend (and potential love curiosity) Halbrand turned out to be the Dark Lord.
The Stranger is definitely one of many Istari, a race of wizards that seem in author J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings books. Tolkien writes about 5 wizards, two of whom characteristic closely within the Lord of the Rings books: Sauron and Saruman.
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At the tip of Season 1, the Stranger defeated the cultists in battle. But they survived and fled again to their grasp, the magic-user performed by Hinds. Amazon provides this official description of the character, which confirms that he, too, is a wizard.
It seems, the mysterious being generally known as the Stranger just isn’t the one wizard who has come to Middle-earth….for within the mysterious lands of Rhûn, one other wizard awaits him. A darkish and highly effective wizard, whose origins and intentions are shrouded in secrecy, and who has a legion of magic-wielding acolytes who obey his each command — amongst them the three vacationers who sought out the Stranger on the finish of Season 1…on the Dark Wizard’s orders.”
It is but unclear whether or not this wizard is likely one of the handful of Istari written about in Tolkien’s tales or whether or not he is a brand new character solely. But followers have some theories.
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He could also be one of many blue wizards
You could do not forget that wizards in Tolkien’s tales are related to totally different colours. (Gandalf the Grey, Saruman the White, and so on.) Tolkien wrote about two blue wizards in Lord of the Rings named Alatar and Pallando. They each traveled to Rhûn to persuade males who had been loyal to Morgoth—the evil energy who was primarily Sauron’s boss—to not be a part of Sauron.
Tolkien wrote that the blue wizards did not cease Sauron and established cults of their very own in Rhûn. They taught their human followers magic and inspired the mortals to worship them.
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Given the Dark Wizard does appear to have a cult following, there is a good likelihood he is certainly one of these two blue wizards.
He could also be Saruman
If The Rings of Power hopes to make extra connections to The Lord of the Rings, it might make sense that in some unspecified time in the future they might introduce Saruman. The White Wizard did journey to Rhûn early in his time on Middle-earth, although Tolkien by no means wrote what he did there. It’s doable the present is making an attempt to fill in that hole.
Still, Gandalf—that’s, if The Stranger is Gandalf—wouldn’t approve of one other wizard beginning a cult when his mission is to cease Sauron. A confrontation between Gandalf and Saruman so early of their time collectively on Middle-earth appears unlikely contemplating that they had been allies for hundreds of years earlier than Saruman turned loyal to Sauron and betrayed Gandalf through the occasions of The Lord of the Rings.
He might be Khamûl
We know that Sauron will finally forge 9 rings for males, and the wearers of these rings can be corrupted and develop into ringwraiths or Nazgûl. The ringwraiths serve Sauron and so they’re the hooded figures who hound Frodo and the fellowship all through the Lord of the Rings books. We’ve in all probability already met just a few of those mortal males on the present.
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Even although this mysterious man wields magic, he could not technically be one of many Istar from the books. If he is a mortal man who acquired mystical expertise, then he is a number one candidate for the character of Khamûl, one of many 9 wringwraiths and a person who hailed from the east.
He could also be a wholly new character
Though most of the characters from The Rings of Power may be present in Tolkien’s texts—Isildur, Galadriel, Durin—some have been created from complete fabric just like the elf Arondir or the harfoot Nori. It is actually doable that this darkish wizard character is model new to the present. There is loads of latitude for showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay to play with the tales in Rhûn on condition that Tolkien left a lot of the exercise in that land mysterious.
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However, the writers additionally clearly wish to hold the viewers guessing as to the identities of sure characters and the way they may match into the canon. They left the reveal of Sauron till the tip of Season 1 and are nonetheless taking part in not confirming The Stranger’s id. So it is possible that this Dark Wizard is certainly an authentic Tolkien character—even when it is somebody the followers don’t anticipate.
